Federal sentence delays trial for naked parolee

Peter Allen Steele, 38, was scheduled to begin jury trial Monday on two counts of indecent exposure, driving while under the influence, resisting arrest, trespassing, vandalism and fleeing a peace officer stemming from a July 11 encounter with deputies in Woodside and Portola.

Deputies, responding to two reports of a 6-foot-7-inch, 250-pound naked man ringing a doorbell, chased Steele’s car onto Interstate 280 where it struck the side of the road at Sand Hill Road. He drove on the rims until the car stopped, then jumped out naked, aside from his shoes, and ran into a nearby home’s open garage. He went through the residence and to the back where deputies used a Taser and a bean bag gun to end the chase, according to the District Attorney’s Office.

The man, identified as Steele, was taken to the hospital were he was reportedly masturbating on a gurney. A search of his car turned up a sex toy, according to the DA’s Office.

Steele has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

After posting $60,000 bail in that case, federal authorities grabbed him for violating probation in an earlier drug case by being re-arrested, said Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe.

Steele was serving four years on probation for possession of a controlled substance. In December, he was found in violation and sentenced to 10 months in custody.

How much time Steele has left on that term will determine if county prosecutors will seek to have him returned early or let him finish out the sentence first, Wagstaffe said.

He also has prior felony convictions for stalking, making threats and evading police. In one case, he tried to escape police by jumping in the Bay, Wagstaffe said.